Harem
by Kurt's Anatomy
Summary: Kurt Hummel has always been one for revenge. When Noah Puckerman crosses the line in a major way and hurts his girls, nobody is prepared for the subsequent events. Because when somebody messes with Kurt's friends, they had better watch their back. Season 2 AU
1. Monsters in the End

Harem

Chapter 1- Monsters in the End

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Kurt was never exactly sure how his 'harem' was formed.

He had been friends with Brittany Pierce since the age of seven years old, when they had attended the same contemporary dance classes together and befriended each other. Their ability was stellar and that, plus Kurt's effeminacy and Brittany's dreamy way of asking farfetched questions, made them somewhat the outcasts of the class. The other children stuck to each other and stayed away from Kurt and Brittany wherever possible. Strangely, Kurt and Brittany did not seem to mind this, though, as each other's choreographic ideas and motifs were designed around the two of them. Their performance prowess was well beyond the usual realms of what a typical seven year old can achieve and their teacher recognised this. Instead of teaching them the basic steps and routines that she had been teaching the other students, she instructed them to complete complex choreography tasks and come up with a routine that was fresh and innovative and, if it met her standards, she would allow the duo to perform it at the recital as an added number. Excited by the prospects of a spotlight routine, Kurt and Brittany got stuck into the work, meeting several times a week for practice sessions, neither one complaining about the advanced nature of their assignment. When the other kids began to display several signs of jealousy, they took it out on Kurt, who they believed to be the vulnerable little boy of the group. Brittany was always there to defend Kurt, which the small boy appreciated. Kurt could handle what they threw at him, but it was always nice to have somebody in his corner.

From then on, Brittany had become fascinated with the man that Kurt Hummel was rapidly becoming. The tragic, sudden death of his mother meant that Kurt was growing up much earlier than any child should ever have to. At the age of eleven, Kurt was far more emotionally developed than any of his peers, and Brittany recognised this. Kurt understood what to say and when to say it, whilst grasping people's sensitivities to certain subjects. Instead of being a loquacious pre-teen, Kurt spoke and behaved more like an adult. This jarred Brittany somewhat, as sometimes she felt that she didn't know what to say around Kurt. She felt that anything she might say would be too childish and immature for him. That was when she realised that Kurt was still a child, but acted more like an adult when around other people. Brittany was the one person that he could be a child around. Everybody else had Kurt erecting his emotional shields and holding them in place, become more lackadaisical with each conversation. His interests were the same and his conversations were based around the same things as before, but he processed and expressed them in different, more mature methods. This had spurred Brittany on to be smarter and more observant. She continued to worry that Kurt would leave her behind and make older friends, with who he had more to discuss. Brittany learned new words and remembered when to use them in her speech. She worked harder in school to try and be as clever as Kurt. She watched people whenever she could and realised that people vastly underestimated her.

Except for Kurt. Kurt had always been the one person that she could safely call her equal. He never judged her for the things that she said or the things that she did. If he said something that she did not comprehend, he would take the time to explain it to her, rather than dismissing her altogether. She appreciated that and she loved him for it. He was her first friend.

Their friendship progressed throughout their teenage years. Brittany had realised that Kurt was gay when they were thirteen. She had never before really looked out for any signs but, now that she knew what it was, she clicked on to it quickly. Kurt was yet to tell her, but she knew that he would when he was comfortable. By this point, they were more akin to siblings than best friends. They confessed their deepest secrets to each other, including Kurt coming out to her (which happened during freshman year) and Brittany telling him that she was attracted to a girl on the Cheerios with her. Kurt, being Kurt, had obviously not made a big deal about this fact, but when Brittany made it clear that she was still interested in boys, that had stumped him.

Kurt had researched being gay on his phone (where his dad couldn't see his Internet activity) but he lacked understanding of bisexuality and had previously dismissed it as not being a viable state of sexuality. When Brittany had told him about herself, he had felt terrible that he had misjudged the situation entirely. Brittany had expressed it in such a manner that he felt guilty for having ever doubted its feasibility in the first place. Brittany had opened his mind considerably and he had thanked her for that. Their friendship wasn't one that many people caught onto, because it wasn't paraded around the school, but it was sacred and the bond the two shared would last forever and there was _nothing_ they wouldn't do to protect each other. Brittany had yelled at a jock for pushing Kurt into a locker, which had gotten Brittany insulted, which had spurred Kurt on to insult him back (rather impressively, Brittany had thought) which started a regular cycle of the two looking out for each other. Kurt couldn't stand to see Brittany hurt or upset, so tried to keep the bullying from her, unsuccessfully.

When Kurt had played straight during their sophomore year and had wanted to make out with a girl and asked Brittany, since they were already comfortable, Brittany had sat him down and gently lectured him about why it wasn't a good idea. She encouraged his individuality and reassured him that his dad loved him, no matter where Finn was. Kurt had avoided having his first kiss be with a girl, his childhood sister of all girls, and continued to be proud of the person he had become. Brittany thought he was pretty awesome and that was good enough for Kurt.

His friendship with Quinn Fabray had begun in freshman year, when (believing his heterosexuality) he had been waiting for Brittany outside of the gymnasium after Cheerios and she had asked him out, noticing his attractiveness and making a move. Kurt had been speechless. He had not expected to be asked out by the head cheerleader and did not know whether to decline or accept. Thinking of Brittany's words when he had come out, he had politely declined, though had proposed an offer to go shopping with her after hearing of the vast depletion in her shoe collection. She had heartily accepted and the two had gone on various shopping excursions afterwards. Quinn was impressed with his eye for fashion, and had quietly asked him if he was gay. He had just nodded, not wanting to say it aloud just yet. He was still properly accepting it himself. He briefly debated the merits of outing himself to the head cheerleader, but he had done it as he had found himself strangely interested in the girl. He thought she was simply marvellous and she loved his company just as much.

It had helped that Brittany liked Quinn, too. The two blondes were active in the Cheerios together and now they had Kurt in common too. Quinn was slowly becoming a member of their weekly sleepovers and shopping trips. When Quinn started dating Finn, just before sophomore year, it had struck a potential rift in their friendship. Kurt _liked_ Finn and Brittany knew that. When Finn had lovingly picked her up from Kurt's house, he had bolted back inside, not being able to stand to watch them dotingly kiss each other outside of his house. Brittany had felt bad for Kurt and asked Quinn politely not to do it again. When Quinn had asked why, it had been Kurt who had told her. Quinn had admitted his courage for telling someone that he liked their boyfriend but she didn't mind and would respect him enough not to commit PDA while Kurt was around or talk about him to them. Kurt was very appreciative of Quinn's actions, and that had only made him like her _more_.

From then on, it was the three of them. Quinn resisted against the tempting pull of popularity that threatened to drive a wedge between her and Kurt, simply liking the boy too much to not be friends with him. She had been knocked down a few rungs in the popularity ladder and had not batted an eyelid. It was the trio against the world.

Kurt's friendship with Tina Cohen-Chang began long before Quinn arrived on the scene. They were casual friends at elementary school, but hadn't really cemented a bond between them as of yet, so they didn't make much effort to see other. However, when they did at school, the conversation was effortless. Kurt thought Tina was great, if not a little shy. As they gradually grew up and Tina began to stutter, Tina was in awe of Kurt's confidence and resilience. She saw how the other mean boys knocked him down every day about his voice and his clothes and she also saw how he picked himself back up and refused to let it bother him. This had inspired her to become more confident within herself. She had asked Kurt how to become more confident and he just said:

"You do it by liking yourself and knowing that you are being exactly who you want to be. And even if you don't like yourself particularly much, tell yourself that you do and the confidence flows through. By liking who you are, or displaying pseudo-fondness, you don't let other people tell you about yourself and you just walk around proudly. But you should love yourself anyway, Tina Cohen-Chang, because you're pretty great." When Tina had asked him if he liked himself, it was that moment that Kurt knew that they would be friends. Her absorption of his answer and quiet observations had resulted in Tina seeing things about Kurt that nobody else besides Brittany did. She knew it was a mask, a façade that he conjured to make people think that their words and actions couldn't affect him. Tina was silently sure that Kurt let his emotions best him in the privacy of his own bedroom, though she would never ask him.

It wasn't until freshman year, though, that Kurt and Tina really connected and became close friends. They had both signed up to McKinley's Glee Club, Rhythm Explosion, on their first day, and decided that they would go for it together. They were together in their mutual distaste for Rachel Berry and her daily attire. They were together in their quest to get solos. They were together in everything Glee-related and, gradually, everything else too. Tina had warmed to Brittany rather speedily, which Kurt was thankful for. Brittany liked the other girl just as much, though realised that there was a lot she didn't know about the girl.

When Quinn had entered the situation, Tina had been somewhat frightened. She had confessed to Kurt that having the head cheerleader around make her nervous, but Kurt had assured her that Quinn was lovely and, even if she was a little judgmental sometimes, she had pure intentions. Tina had, rather surprisingly, found out that Quinn _was_ a lovely person and the girls had not clashed as Tina was scared that would. Kurt had a quartet. He loved his girls and was happy that they loved him. Things were going smoothly for him in the friendship department. He wasn't desperate for heaps of friends and acquaintances like one Mercedes Jones, but was rather content with a few extremely close friends. That being said, Kurt had never expected the fifth addition to their group.

His friendship with Santana Lopez was fresh at the end of freshman year. Kurt had been appreciative of the girl's talent in Glee Club and her brutal honesty outside of it, something which he thought was an admirable trait in a person. It was then that he had finally pieced together the puzzle and gleaned that Santana was the girl that Brittany liked on the Cheerios. At first, he had suspected that it was Quinn, because everyone seemed to like Quinn (and Finn's love for her had absolutely _nothing_ to do with that, at all, no way) and the girls connected well. When Kurt had first seen Brittany and Santana together in Glee Club, he had thought that they were very close friends, nothing more, as Santana was recognised school-wide for her sexual promiscuity with _boys_, and he had never sensed anything more with her.

When Kurt had realised that Santana Lopez was the most guarded person since himself, everything clicked like one huge-ass jigsaw. Santana was a lesbian and hid her sexuality by compensating with boys. When Kurt had found out about Finn sleeping with Santana, he was at first jealous, but then after he learned of Santana's sexuality, he was angry. He and Finn were almost kind of not really stepbrothers and he looked out for his almost kind of not really family at whatever cost. He was angry that she had snatched his virginity in her talons (once the pangs of jealousy and curiosity had worn off of course) but he was more angry at her for how she had been treating _herself_. Despite his insane notions of playing straight for his dad's attention, Kurt had never considered sleeping with a girl. That Santana would open herself up (literally. Ew, gross, Kurt had thought) to something that she was not attracted to just so she could hide who she really was, saddened him a little bit. He had sat her down and talked to her about being gay, something which she was reluctant to hear out loud, but, internally, she required it. She needed a lesson in self-acceptance and who better to give it to her than the King of it all?

Santana had truly opened herself up to Kurt (not like that, gross) about everything. Once Santana felt that she could trust him, which surprisingly had not taken her long, she confessed to him about her façade, something which he returned, her fear of judgement, her insecurities (although Kurt reassured her that she was hot, "you know, for a girl and all") but she was insecure about her personality and about Brittany. She figured that she wasn't deserving of loving Brittany, who was so open and carefree whereas she herself was not and preferred to hide who she was in favour of lying to everyone. Kurt had not commented on her worthiness, because in his eyes nobody was worthy of Brittany, but had pointed out that she deserved whatever made her happy. Santana was miffed because she had never thought of it like that, but also appreciative because Kurt had slotted all the pieces into place.

Something that all four girls had in common was their love for Kurt Hummel. He loved them just as much and, although the girls were close with each other, Kurt was the never-fraying thread that sealed their friendship. Their relationships with each other weren't dependent on Kurt, but he glued him together and balanced their differences out. He was the calm zone. He was the anchor.

And that is how Kurt Hummel's Harem of Hot Bitches (Santana's idea) was formed. And the thing to note about the harem is that once somebody is screwed over, the other four go for the jugular of whoever committed such an act.

But when somebody hurts all four of Kurt's girls, nobody will know where to even look for the body.

Noah Puckerman committed such a foul, loathsome act.

Noah Puckerman was about to experience the full power of Kurt Hummel once and for all.

Noah Puckerman would rue the day he ever messed with a member of the KHHHB (Kurt Hummel's Harem of Hot Bitches) because what Kurt had planned outweighed every single bad thing he had ever done in his life, bar none.

In other words, shit was about to go the hell down.

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**Author's Note: Welcome to my new story, _Harem_. It is a Kurt/Quinn/Santana/Tina/Brittany centric story and revolves around their bonds with each other, their vulnerabilities and their willingness to look out for each other. This is just an introduction into the backstories of the main characters and how they joined the KHHHB, so to speak. The next chapter will be the start of the journey, which includes: plotting, destruction, secrets, lies, weakness, vulnerability, violence, oh yeah, and _lots and lots _of drama. Stick around for this, you won't want to miss out. **

**Okay, now that I'm done sounding like an ABC Family promotional trailer for a new teen drama, please review with your thoughts and any story suggestions or anything that you want to see?**


	2. Haven't You Noticed Me Drifting?

Chapter 2- Haven't You Noticed Me Drifting?

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Every single day of his life, Kurt has had to spend valuable time evaluating the life choices of Noah Puckerman. After Quinn's sophomore year slip up, Santana's frequent hook ups with the brute, his poor treatment of Kurt himself and sweet Brittany, he had been forced to play the defensive for a while. Once he understood Noah Puckerman, he could begin to pick him apart slowly but effectively. And Kurt definitely planned to.

The first straw was Santana. He messed around with her constantly and still treated her like a piece of garbage. Kurt knew, even before their friendship that Santana Lopez was worth much more, but she refused to believe it. Her sleeping with Puck meant that nobody shoved their suspicious and curious noses into her business. Admittedly, Santana gave back as good as she got and _more_ so, but Puck went to her for sex when he couldn't get anybody else. Kurt vowed to never have his girls treated as a last resort. They weren't girls who were relied upon for a quickie in the janitor's closet. They were respected, fierce women. Puck treated Santana like a whore and capitalised on her doubtfulness about her sexuality, although he didn't know it. They used each other, but Puck always bragged about doing Santana in some random place and used it to gain a plethora of high-fives from the school's most conceited jock species.

Then the second straw was Quinn. That was the obvious. The pregnancy. Puck had feelings for Quinn, which Kurt could understand and accept, but he went about dealing with them in the wrong way. He could've bought her dinner. He could've serenaded her in Glee Club. No. Instead, he used her body weight insecurities as a fucking _play_. He got her drunk and told her that she wasn't fat and bingo. Puck had unlocked the secret to having sex with Quinn. Without protection. Kurt had stressed this point enough, but Puck had never understood the meaning of it. He slept around with older women before Quinn, so who knows what she might've caught. At Kurt's insistence, Quinn had been getting yearly tests from her doctors. Quinn, whilst sobbing, had assured Kurt that Puck that usually used protection, apart from the time they had slept together, of course. Still, Quinn had wholeheartedly been tested, afraid of Puck lying to her and causing a potentially worse result than her pregnancy.

The third straw was Brittany. Chronologically, she was the first straw, but Kurt only found out about it after Quinn's conception of Beth. Puck used Brittany to feel better about himself, much as he did Kurt. Brittany used deceptive methods around people to get them to leave her alone. She appeared intellectually incapable around others so that they would underestimate her and make it easier for her to protect her friends. Whenever something evil happened, nobody pointed the finger at "sweet, simple, innocent Brittany". She was actually more cunning and thoughtful than she let on to anybody. Puck bullied Brittany about her intelligence and, although it wasn't actually a reflection of her actual intelligence, she took it to heart as a dig at her personal insecurity. Although she wasn't dumb, she didn't get straight A's like Kurt, Quinn and Santana. Sometimes, she felt lesser than her friends, despite their insistences that academic intelligence meant nothing if you weren't a good person. Puck made sure that Brittany knew that she wasn't smart. He spread a rumour that she had brain damage and everybody had believed it. Due to the persona that she had presented to the world, they had no reason not be. Santana had tirelessly defended her, to no avail. Even Santana's threats could not distract the student body. This had hurt Brittany, and resulted in her spending nights in Kurt's arms, sobbing about how she didn't think she was smart enough to graduate, but Kurt assured her that since her interests did not lie within the realms of academics, she didn't have to apply to college to study them. He talked to Brittany about dance schools and helped her look a few that seemed promising. Brittany suddenly had a new plan of attack, and Puck had used that as ammunition. He had said that dance schools were an escape route because "she knew she couldn't graduate being dumber than sand."

Brittany had ignored him, but years of absorbing criticism had left her with a heavy weight pressing against her heart. She bottled everything in and soon it had to come out. This played on Brittany's mind and caused her to lose focus in school. Kurt tutored her in her weakest subjects, Chemistry and Algebra, and she had taught him some things in Biology, her favourite class. Brittany loved animals, and thus her Biology grade was at a constant A. Even Puck couldn't make her feel bad about that.

The fourth straw was Puck's treatment of Tina. The two had barely interacted in Glee Club, so it was a surprise to everyone when Tina arrived at one of Kurt's sleepovers raging about an "arrogant misogynist pig such as Noah Puckerman.

"_He can go and die in a hole somewhere because I am so done with his shit!" Tina raged, slamming Kurt's basement-now-bedroom door in a frenzy of anger. Santana, looking up, cocked an eyebrow, severely impressed with the girl's use of invective. Kurt smirked, bemused as to who she was talking about, but please nonetheless. Quinn and Brittany exchanged a concerned glance with each other. _

"_Come here, T." Kurt beckoned her over and she sunk into his arms gratefully, finding comfort there. She held back sobs as Kurt asked her what was wrong. _

"_That arrogant misogynist pig! I hate him, Kurt. I'm usually a calm person. I don't hate many people but him I could gladly hit in the balls with a machete." She seethed. Kurt smirked once more, now gleaning the identity of her discussion. _

"_What's Puckerman done to you, baby?" Kurt stroked her hair soothingly as she released a few sobs, making Quinn wince. She knew only too well what the damage from a Noah Puckerman attack can do to somebody. _

"_Well you know that painting I've been working on for that national art competition?" With their nods, she continued. "Well the biggest cretin of the century decides to fucking slushy it. The ice and the liquid didn't react well with the ink and the acrylics and it's completely ruined. I've been working on it for five months and it was so close to being complete! This was the only thing my mother has been proud of me for and it's gone. I _hate_ him, Kurt." Tina explained, looking thoroughly downcast. Kurt's face contorted into that of a ferocious demon for a second, before it reverted back to its composed state. Santana did not miss this flicker and she made a mental note to analyse it later on. _

"_Oh honey, I know how much effort you put into that. It was extraordinary. Don't worry about Puckerman, though. I'm waiting for the right moment and I'll be sorting it out." He patted her hand. _

"_What are you planning?" Quinn interjected, curious. _

"_You'll see. Though I'll require your assistance closer to the time." _

Ever since that day, Kurt had been waiting for the perfect opening into the destruction of Noah Puckerman.

Kurt himself had been the last straw. Puck's incessant bullying of the only gay kid in Lima had been the breaking point. Kurt had dealt with it for most of his life and he had just instinctively learned to swat him away and ignore him. But, sometimes, what Puck does is impossible to ignore. Sometimes Kurt can't brush him aside with an impeccably timed insult. Sometimes the things Noah Puckerman says can't be retracted with a half-hearted apology in Glee Club. Quinn, Santana, Tina and Brittany all think that Kurt can take whatever Puck does with a pinch a salt, but when walks into Glee Club looking thoroughly upset and furious, they know Puck's gone in too deep and that Kurt's on the warpath.

"But Kurt, what did Puck actually _do_?" Tina asks, walking quickly to keep up with Kurt's pace.

"Oh, it's nothing. You'll find out later." Kurt bit his lip, trying to maintain his composed mask. Noah Puckerman had crossed many lines with his most recent act of viciousness. There were certain boundaries of bullying and Noah Puckerman had crossed them all. It was entirely verbal, but his words made Kurt feel even more inferior and more useless than he usually did around the jocks. Public humiliation was not lost on his recent endeavour either, as all of the jocks began to agree and the threats bounced around the locker room like excited children hyped up on sugar at a birthday party.

Kurt and Tina carried the pizza and drinks into Kurt's basement, the latter trying his best not to cry. He had been holding it in all day, and a hug from Tina had almost released all of his feelings but had held them all back. He hated being vulnerable around people, even his best friends.

Quinn, Brittany and Santana were already there, knowing that something was wrong. They're best friend intuition told them as much. Brittany was silently seething, rocking back and forth in a foetal position on the floor. She knew something really terrible must have happened for Kurt to be that upset over the phone. Brittany just knew when he was trying his best not to sob. She automatically blamed Noah Puckerman, the primary source of hate in all of their lives.

When they were settled, they all looked at Kurt expectantly.

"Kurt, I'm getting worried. What has he done to you?" Brittany said, her concern evident in her tone.

Kurt closed his eyes and exhaled shakily, not ready to tell the story. "He…he used to be just a bully. Now he's a monster. You know that jock mentality where if one thinks something, they all agree and support each other? It's really a bitch.

"Yesterday, after Cheerio practice, you know since Figgins made that big stink about you guys smuggling me into the girls' locker rooms even though I'm a hero in there? I'm being forced to change with the boys as 'no exceptions shall be made for any students' even though I'm not welcome in there. Well," Kurt wiped a stray tear from his face. Quinn made a sudden movement to go and hug him, but Santana pulled her back.

"He needs this." She whispered.

"Puck didn't like my sudden appearance in there when the entire football team was changing. This blonde guy came over to talk to me and I've never seen him before in my life but apparently I lured him over to 'molest and convert' him. He dragged the guy away and shoved me against a wall. I hurt my back but he seemed to enjoy that. He told me that I shouldn't be trying to turn the football team because they all hate me. The blonde guy seemed to want to help, but the other jocks had him pinned against a locker and they were whispering against his ear. And then…" Kurt broke off. Tina rubbed soothing lines up and down his back, encouraging him.

"You're in a safe place, Kurt. You can tell us."

"He-He said that all of the guys should get together and…and _rape_ me because apparently it's a lesson that I need to be taught. I need to be t-taught how forcing myself on somebody feels. Why do they think that I'm a r-rapist?" Kurt's gates broke. He began to cry. Brittany launched herself at him, nestling his head into her neck and stroking his hair softly as he sobbed. Quinn looked sympathetic but knew that Tina and Brittany could comfort him better than she could. Santana sat trembling with rage. She would need to sort Noah Puckerman out in a way that he would never be able to recover from.

She looked once at Quinn and that was all that they needed to do to concoct a vicious plan that was very Regina George-like. Strip away Puck's resources. Everything he used to make himself popular and feared would be gone.

Noah Puckerman was going down for making her best boy cry and saying such a foul thing. The five would address it later, but Kurt needed time to cry about it. He hadn't let himself show any signs of weakness in front of the jocks because of obvious reasons, but now he could let himself cry and break down now that he was around his girls.

Santana smirked slightly as she thought of what the quintet had in store for Lima's resident badass. It was not going to be pretty.

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**Author's Note: The title of the chapter comes from lyrics from 'Falling' by _The Civil Wars_ from their album, _Barton Hollow_. Listen to it right now!_  
_**

**I'm planning this story to be really slow before the action kicks in, so I need to build the friendships up and add things about the characters that are relevant to the plot. **

**Based on my writing, there's no real question as to who the blonde boy is, but what is his story? **

**Yes I know what Puck said to Kurt was awful and pretty OOC but this is an AU story where Puck is a complete and utter monster if you haven't already guessed. But brace yourself for the explosion, it's not going to be pretty. **

**Thank you so much for the response to the first chapter and review my lovelies! x**


	3. Getting To Know You

Chapter 3- Getting To Know You

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When evaluating the best things about having four devoted best friends, Kurt often decided upon the fact that they would all be there for him no matter when time he needed them or why. If he was simply in need of an impromptu sleepover, they would arrive at his house with snacks within the hour.

This was the case this time, but with a slightly different agenda.

First on the agenda, revenge.

Santana and Brittany arrived together, as usual. They were both deeply in love with each other, but extremely reluctant to profess their feelings. People's constant undermining of Brittany made her extremely self-conscious. Santana's own doubts about her sexuality and personality caused her to be cautious around Brittany, careful not to reveal too much.

Tina was the first to arrive, waiting on a text from Artie, who hadn't responded to her in three days. It was Christmas break and Tina had tried to call Artie's cell seven times in the past two days. After some ranting to Kurt, she had settled on waiting until he called her. She hadn't heard anything from him. Kurt took this to mean that he simply didn't care about his relationship with such a wonderful girl and would be having words with Arthur Abrams when they reconvened for the next semester of school.

Quinn arrived last, having some prior engagements to reschedule. Kurt didn't mind her lateness simply because she had dropped whatever she was doing to come to a sleepover.

"It's fine, Kurt. You guys are my best friends; I would do anything for any of you." Quinn said, skipping into the basement which Kurt had converted into his bedroom with a big smile. Santana and Brittany smiled back, but Tina was reluctant to, something that Kurt did not miss. Kurt was very perceptive when it came to his best friend and there was not much that he missed in terms of facial expressions and movements and tones of voice. He had spent so long observing people that it was hard to not analyse them.

"So, let's get down to business. The reason why you are all assembled here now is because of the obvious threat to our happiness. The vile gangrene on the toenail of life. The mustard stain on every Marc Jacobs sweater. Noah Puckerman. He must be stopped and fast, before he destroys anybody else. Quinn, what he did to you was kind of irreversible after a certain time limit, so we can't do anything about that apart from cold, hard revenge." Kurt smirked.

"Wanky." Santana muttered from next to him.

"Definitely not. Apologies to you, Unholy Trinity, but your lapse in good taste was definitely apparent when deciding to sleep with that cretin. Tina and I have kept a clean slate in that area, something which shouldn't be too hard to maintain." Tina smiled uncertainly. Quinn frowned at her, but dismissed it.

"Anyway, before Santana's irrelevant interruption, I believe I have formulated the cruellest rumours, plans and strategies to hit Puckerman right where it hurts. After we're done with him, no woman or man is going to want to touch him in any way. Nobody is going to want to speak to him, even the jocks. For all of this to work, we are all going to have to be completely honest and open with each other. I trust you all with my life and I hope you do the same with each other. This plan may involve us being quite complicit at some points, but that's not relevant just yet. So, before we strike, we must band together and become solid. We should use this weekend to cement that extra bond between us all and make sure we're tightly knit and on point. Any questions?"

"When you say complicit…" Tina began, not entirely sure that she wanted to get in legal trouble just so she could rub something in Noah Puckerman's face. Ew no, bad images.

"Nothing that won't be meticulously planned to the last detail by yours truly. Don't worry, T, you'll be fine. The Ivy's will still be in a position to consider each of us after this, no smudging of our records."

Brittany instinctively stiffened at Kurt's mention of the Ivy League Colleges. She knew that the other four were planning on attending them in some form or another. She also doubted that they would even take notice of her unless she stunned everybody with an SAT score that even Artie would be envious of. Brittany figured that she could always ask Kurt to study with her, as she knew that he would do it in a heartbeat, but she wanted her scores to be reflective of her own accomplishments and intelligence, not just what wisdom Kurt imparted onto her.

She reckoned that if she studied hard enough, she could get a good score, but not one that would make her considered by the Ivy's. Her GPA was decent, but not stellar, as the rest of them had. She would be extremely happy for them if they all attended Ivy League schools, but she would not be able to contain her jealousy and mild resentment if she didn't.

She wanted to become a veterinarian, so a Veterinary Sciences course seemed applicable but they were also highly competitive. She would definitely need Kurt's help with her application. He was looking to go on and study at Harvard Medical School, something which everybody knew that he could do. He was certainly intellectual and mature enough to take it on. Many misinterpreted Kurt's character and expected him to be studying musical theatre or fashion design or something related to those fields. Those who truly knew him knew that they were passions, but medicine was something he had been considering since his mother died. He wanted to help people and prevent people from feeling the way that he did when he lost his mother.

Santana's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"That's not to say that if the opportunity for illegality rose that we wouldn't snap it up promptly and ruin him that way." She supplied helpfully. Kurt's eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded all the same.

"I have ways of escaping arrest; I'm a ninja like that."

The other just nodded, accepting the fact that Kurt was incredibly sneaky and could probably talk his way out of anything he needed to.

"Kurt!" Burt called from upstairs. "Could you come here for a second, please?" Kurt nodded curtly.

"Amuse yourselves, won't you? This shouldn't take too long." Kurt apologised and dashed upstairs to check what his father wanted from him.

As soon as they were alone, Santana spun to face Tina.

"Alright, Girl Chang, ever since this little group started hanging out, you've been glaring at me when you think Kurt is not looking and noticing. I know there's something you want to say to me so let's talk about that. Out with it." Santana raised an eyebrow expectantly.

She knew that Tina didn't like her a great deal, but that was probably because she didn't know her. Santana figured that Tina was wary of her being around Kurt, but that was easily rectified.

"Fine, like Kurt said, it's truth time."

Tina readied herself.

"With an honest disclosure policy intact, I feel that I have to draw attention to my concerns with you, Santana. I'm not going to be a Mercedes Jones and dictate who Kurt can be friends with, because that's just stupid, but I'm always worried and concerned that you're going to end up hurting Kurt in some way. Besides Brittany, you've alienated most of your friends in some way. What makes you think that you're not going to do the same to Kurt?" Tina challenged her.

Santana smirked. _Alright, Girl Chang, _she thought, _let's play_.

"The simple fact is that you know nothing about me or my friendship with Kurt. That's a good thing. It means I can explain it to you myself.

"Kurt is good for me. He's very good for me, in fact. He brings out the best parts of me and tames the worst parts. Finding Kurt is one of the best things to happen to me. He _gets_ me in a way that only Brittany and Quinn have ever come close to. We're not kindred spirits or anything, but we're alike. Very. So he understands the way that my mind works.

"He makes me a much better person. A person that I can stand to look in the mirror at and say 'You know what, I am a good person'. Rather than hating myself for always having to put people down or keep secrets, I can be happy with who I am. I don't think that Glee has done that for me; but Kurt has. He's so patient and understanding with me. At first it drove me crazy, but I can get on board with it now."

Tina nodded along with her explanation, but still remained quite sceptical.

"I know what you're thinking, Tina. 'Is this really Santana Lopez?' or some shit like that. It's me. Before I met Kurt, I would've been still insulting the likes of you and Wheels…I mean Artie. I'm not saying that Kurt has made me a nice person, because even he has stated that that is a challenge to difficult for even him. All I'm saying is that I owe him for making me more confident in myself. I owe him a lot for all of his time and his good advice. So if anybody fucks with him, I'll be there to whack them down and make them bleed. And hurt him myself? Well, that is something that I would never, ever consider doing. If I ever do, it'll be the biggest mistake I ever make and I hope he forgives me for that. I have to also apologise to you, Tina. I haven't been fair to you in the past. I would never have done with Puck did, but I've been pretty awful to you and Kurt has made me see that. So, for that among other things, I'm sorry. Ugh, I hate saying those words, but I do mean it."

Tina regarded Santana's monologue with wide eyes. She had not expected such a revelation.

"I actually _like_ Kurt. And everybody knows that I don't exactly like many people. But Kurt's special. And I like him."

Quinn blinked, noting something worth remembering about what Santana had said.

She had revealed that she and Kurt were close and she liked him, but nothing about Tina. She hadn't made anything clear about the other girl. In fact, none of them really expressed sincere liking to the others bar Kurt. Santana and Brittany were obviously in love, so they didn't count. Tina hadn't mentioned anything about Brittany, Santana or Quinn herself. Quinn and Santana were friends, as the former was with Brittany, but she didn't really know Tina as, Quinn suspected, Brittany didn't either. Quinn realised then that Tina Cohen-Chang was the missing link in all of this.

She was very much a part of the group, but only really so because of Kurt. The others didn't really know her. Quinn mentally planned to rectify this, but the timing wasn't quite right just yet for such a conversation.

Meanwhile, Kurt had timed everything perfectly. He was stood listening outside the basement door to Santana's explanation with a wide smile on his face. Santana rarely talked about anybody who wasn't Brittany with such fondness and he was genuinely flattered that she considered him with such high regard. Waiting a few beats to make his re-entrance, Kurt pushed open the door and re-joined his girls for a much-needed night of connections and planning.

Half an hour later, Kurt and the girls were discussing a possible school musical for their junior year.

Santana had rather reluctantly suggested Chicago, but only if Quinn and herself were Roxie and Velma. Kurt and Brittany had both praised their casting choices, with Tina adding her desire to be Mama, rather than the generic choice of Mercedes.

Brittany had suggested they try and pull off a production of Wicked but it was, to their immense surprise, Kurt who had shot that particular idea down.

"Not that that wouldn't be completely fabulous, but I just know that Mr Schuester would be cliché and awful and give Elphaba to Rachel without giving anybody else a look-in." He had complained. Tina had nodded in acquiescence with his point, but Quinn had frowned.

"I thought that you would be gunning for Glinda anyway, Kurt. You're certainly pretty enough to play her." As soon as she finished, Santana closed her eyes and held her breath, watching Kurt's reaction. By Brittany's reaction, Quinn had known that it was the wrong thing to say.

Kurt had paled considerably and he had swallowed audibly.

"Excuse me, I think I have to get a glass of water." Kurt whispered before fleeing from the room. Santana just sat there, biting her lip. Brittany almost moved, but Tina was the quickest, following Kurt up the stairs and into the ground floor bathroom.

Before she entered, Kurt had cradled himself into a ball in between the toilet and wall, his heads planted into his crossed arms. His knees were drawn up against his chest and Tina could plainly hear the sobs escaping from his throat.

She knocked on the door hesitantly, but pushed her way in nonetheless.

"Kurt, what's wrong?" Tina said, worry lacing her voice.

"Oh, it's nothing I'm being stupid."

"Kurt, don't lie to me, please. I respect you far too much to accept that."

He sniffled. "Fine, I'm not okay, Tina."

"Was it what Quinn said?"

He just nodded.

Neither Kurt nor Tina knew that Quinn, Santana and Brittany were listening slightly outside the door. All three girls were completely silent, waiting to hear what Kurt would reveal to Tina.

* * *

**Author's Note: ****Unfortunately, this update comes with slightly bad news. I won't be updating for a while. I've come with the strategy that every time I update, I lose focus on a story. BUT I don't want to abandon anything! So...I'm completing all of my stories and then posting the completed version fully to FanFiction so the next updates will be the entire fic. If this is an awful idea, I don't care. But this is the way I want to do it. **

**So the next time you check in to an update of this story, it will be complete. Au revoir until then. I'm excited about this story!**


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